Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is as good as Lionel Messi.
The duo have been shortlisted for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or award along with Messi's Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta.
"There is nothing between the two of them, they are both the best players in the world," The Sun quotes Ferguson as saying.
"There will always be great players. You can go back to the '60s with Alfredo di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Eusebio. Going into the '70s you had Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer and then in the '80s Marco van Basten.
"I think what we are seeing at the moment is that Messi is an exceptional player from this decade, along with Cristiano. I don't think the rivalry against each other bothers them."
Ronaldo played for United from 2003 until 2009, winning the Premier League three times and the Champions League once.
